From where we were standing, it looked like Mister Cee, Big Daddy Kane’s D.J. from his 1989 hit album, “It’s A Big Daddy Thing”. I quickly approached the man, but to my surprise, he laughed and told me I was confused and he was not the person who I thought he was. One might now be asking yourself, “How would the 15 year-old version of me recognize Calvin LeBrun?” Well, I am that person who reads the liner notes, checks who received credit for lyrics and admires all of the photographs and artwork that accompanies the albums that have floated in and out of my life.
I am one of the youngest in my family, so I inherited a stereo that played 8-tracks (“Born to Run”) and cassettes (“It Takes 2”). I did eventually add a CD component (“Back in Black”), but I did not realize until a few years ago that the gem of all my inheritance was the albums and 45s.
I do not know seem to be the only one whose records are getting more use than the dusty pile of CDs. Based on a September 2020 article from ‘The Guardian’, “Vinyl records have outsold CDs in the US for the first time since the 1980s, according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).”
I don’t remember ever actually purchasing albums at Vintage Vinyl in Edison, NJ, but I know that vinyl is clearly now a (big daddy) thing. Already 6 years ago, I attended a Barr Brothers concert at The Andy Warhol Museum in 2014, and the band was only selling their self-titled debut album on vinyl. More recently, I worked my first concert since both the global pandemic stunted live performances and the opening act Nick Perri & The Underground Thieves, only promoted the vinyl release of their new album “Sun Via”.
These days I go crate-diving and pick up $1.00 classics when I can. Most recently, I found the 1962 release of “The Best of Sam Cooke”. And I also revel in the many classic lines in songs that reference the act of spinning a record. Vanilla Ice simply pumping up the crowd with “If there was a problem yo I'll solve it / Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it” is only one example of artists singing about records.
For me, I love the sound of the snap, crackle and pop made through my speakers. The three-dimensional grooves cut into the vinyl record represent how the sound waves can move through the air. It is also exhilarating to actually steady my hand to put the needle on the record. I can’t go back to Penn Station and ask the question to Mister Cee again, but maybe if he saw me now carrying my crate of records, he would have a different answer.
Thanks for reading!
